US: Weekly initial claims was 232,000, a decrease of 12,000 from previous week

"In the week ending August 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 232,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 244,000," the US Department of Labor announced on Thursday.

Key takeaways:

• The 4-week moving average was 240,500, a decrease of 500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 241,000
• The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.4 percent for the week ending August 5, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate
• The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending August 5 was 1,953,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level
• The 4-week moving average was 1,960,250, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's revised average